Category: People

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Irritating Noise = Back to Normal!

With the fading of Covid and mask-wearing in Atenas comes the welcome sounds of the old “life as normal” with concerts and fiestas in the park and our first parade in more than 2 years scheduled for next week, 14 & 15 September, to celebrate Independence Day which is 15 September. Usually there is the parade of lanterns made by elementary school children on the night of 14th and then the big parade with all the bands + mid-day on the 15th. We will see, but you know something will happen because from the side of my hill I can hear three different schools practicing their drumming daily, which they always do a couple of weeks before a parade! 🙂 I’m still searching for a schedule of events and may have to go by the city hall for that. 🙂 Here’s some photos of previous years bands drumming before Covid . . . a single shot, then a gallery . . .

Youth Drumming in Atenas, Costa Rica
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Forced Respite From Blogging

Well, it was just two nights away, one of my shortest overnight trips yet in Costa Rica, and I was planning on a blog post each night. But first it was Google Chrome, then MS Edge and finally Firefox browser that all refused to let me into my own website to post (and one other site) saying I was on an “unsafe connection (hotel Wifi) and that someone at my own website might steal by personal information including credit card numbers.” 🙂 Grrrrrrrrr.

So I just took a respite from the blog. No big deal. And here are the photos I was going to post that first night there (Wednesday) simply showing my room. The large rooms, or really spacious villas, plus the overall architecture is the highlight of Xandari Costa Rica for most guests, that and also the original art and statuary in every room and in the gardens. Then the first class restaurant and for nature lovers like me, a protected rainforest with 5 waterfalls and beautiful gardens around the buildings plus for other people, 3 pools and a Spa! It was a good respite and even though fewer birds this time (fewer all over Central Valley because of the strange weather this year), I photographed 5 or 6 birds plus more that 25 species (still counting) of butterflies with about 6 new or first-time seen species for me! Here’s one photo of one of the butterflies for the email version of the post, followed by a gallery of 6 shots from my room . . .

Orange-striped White by my terrace.
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Pura Vida Inspiration

I read three things today that helped me realize again how fortunate I am to be living in such an amazing little country as Costa Rica! AND how much I have slowed down, calmed down, and embraced nature since I’ve been living here, eight years this coming December! Here’s links to the three inspirational articles I read today . . .

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Looking Up!

Yes, I could say that things are looking up as the number of Covid cases has greatly decreased, more people are out without a mask and businesses seem to be doing a little better, but this time I’m talking about literally looking up from my garden or terrace and seeing the beauty I miss when I only look down, like plants reaching for the sun, a beautiful leaf, and the flowers way up on the hill behind me! And I know that this is not the first post on “Looking Up” and probably won’t be the last, but it is with some fresh photos! 🙂

My favorite Cecropia or Guarumo Leaf, high on the tree, absorbing the sun!
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Park Renovation Update

I’ve recently learned that much of the park renovation is being paid for by volunteer donations as the city budget was greatly hurt by the pandemic. And all the work is being done by park employees rather than an expensive contractor, so I guess the slowness is to be expected and maybe praised for a job well done without much means.

After the celebration of the park entrance sign and flagpoles, they finally started again by blocking off another wedge of the park with the ugly tin construction fence. It is the area where we’ve had a children’s playground. They’ve removed all the old playground equipment and dug up the brick sidewalk in preparation for another modern cement sidewalk with I assume the trademark low walls for sitting as a replacement for park benches. There will likely be an additional sitting area for parents watching their children play. This sidewalk radiates from the central circular kiosk to the SE corner of the park. Once the concrete work is done I assume they will then install the new playground equipment and another section of remodeling will be completed. I doubt that even they know how long it will take. Here’s 3 photos to show what they’ve started . . .

Construction fence around the playground section of park while people still use the other spaces including the central kiosk partially shown here.
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Youth Service Project

On one of my walks to town the other day these high school aged kids did not see me snap a photo of them with my phone. They were evidently doing a service project, possibly through the school, painting this public picnic table at the City Sports Park next to the covered Basketball Court. Hopefully they are painting all of the several at this park which are always full at lunch time with a very popular empanada shop across the street in one direction and fried chicken (el pollo frito) a block the other direction. 🙂

Teenagers painting picnic table in a public park, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

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“How beautiful the leaves grow old.”

“How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”

~John Burroughs
“How beautiful . . . “

I have already done one post on dead leaves, titled: Beauty in Death about the final days of a Heliconia leaf in my garden with one of my favorite photos. Then the above quote of John Burroughs and some cool dead leaves at Playa Cativo Lodge motivated me to move on with another dead leaf post! 🙂

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My Radiation Treatment Testimony

Siglo XXI Radioterapia, the private clinic that treated me post-cancer surgery asked if they could interview me on camera as a way of helping future patients understand a little more of what they will go through. So I did and it is now on YouTube with me speaking in English and of course they added Spanish Subtitles. I’m always embarrassed to see and hear myself on a video, but if it helps even one other patient face the treatment, then more power to them! 🙂

My Cancer Treatment Testimonial Video for Siglo XXI.

¡Pura Vida!

And that book in the feature photo can be previewed free at True Grit in my bookstore.